I found this article while looking at websites for units im looking at to join, i guess this shows the N.Y-Boston/Mass rivalry goes back even to 1861, heres an excerpt.

Distressed by the shortage apparent in Massachusetts, Governor James Andrew dispatched Francis B. Crowninshield on April 24th as his primary negotiator to England to purchase arms for the many troops the state was then raising. On the basis of the recommendation of master armorer Charles McFarland of the Springfield Armory, Governor Andrew requested that Crowninshield purchase 25,000 stands of arms, preferably something that was as close as possible to the M1855 Springfield rifle.

Equipped with a letter of credit from the Commonwealth worth 50,000 English pounds, Crowninshield, accompanied by McFarland, arrived in England on May 6th. Although they quickly went to work, they were distressed to find that an agent from the governor of New York who had crossed over on the same ship had already laid claim to close to 40,000 Enfield rifles on hand and ready for immediate shipment. Competition was also heightened by the presence of agents from the Confederacy as well as other Northern states. Still, the Massachusetts team was able to secure contracts that resulted in the manufacture and export of some 14,700 M1853 Enfield 3-band "long" rifles to Massachusetts before the end of the year. Subsequently, an additional 1,000 were purchased from New York, and another 5,680 Enfields were received from Britain the following year
http://www.28thmass.org/TheEnf/Enfield.htm#anchor527928